


Baby Hotline

by et_tu_adashi



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Baby Keith (Voltron), Fluff and Angst, Keith Is A Little Shit, M/M, Matt Holt & Shiro Friendship, Matt Holt is a Meme, Mutual Pining, Pining, Pining Shiro (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron) is a Good Parent, Single Dad AU, Single Parent Shiro (Voltron), Slow Burn, canon doesnt exist here, pining adam
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:35:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27356599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/et_tu_adashi/pseuds/et_tu_adashi
Summary: Baby hotline, please hold me close to you ~Adam gets a call from Matt asking him to take over his baby sitting session Keith because he can't. What he expects is a few hours with an angsty six year old, what he gets is so much more than that.
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 50





	1. Chapter 1

It had been a mainly peaceful morning for Adam, he had spent most of it leaning against his counter, lazily sipping his coffee and reading a book. Usually he would be at the shop working, but ever since Iverson decided to make cuts, he had been working less and less. It did bug him, but the shop was not Adam’s endgame goal or career anyways. He was working there to save for graduate school and he had enough to quit and apply. He just enjoyed the people and also working with the cars, not to mention that he was able to work on his bike for free there. He was trying his best to keep work off of his mind, hence him picking up a sci-fi book to drown away his thoughts through epic galactic warfare. Sometimes he wished that he could be a part of a galactic coalition and fighting to protect the universe. He lazily took another sip of a coffee, not breaking contact with his book. He was at a particularly intense part. The main character was fighting against the enemy and it had Adam fully focused on the novel. His attention was ripped away when his cell phone began to ring. He sighed, putting the book page down on his counter and reaching for the phone, checking the caller I.D. before answering.

“Hey Matt, how are you?” Adam asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Hey, I’m doing okay. Work is kicking my ass, but hey what’s new?” Adam laughed at his response.

“Glad to know they are keeping you whipped. What’s up?”

“What are you up to today?” Matt asked, peaking Adam’s curiosity. He wondered if Matt was going to suggest going to a karaoke bar again. They both enjoyed going out and grabbing a couple beers, so when music was added to the mix it became a lot more fun for everyone.

“Well,” He sighed, “Besides some emails and a few house chores, nothing really.” He was planning on spending the day looking into different universities and their programs. If he was going to spend less time working, might as well start looking into finish this school career

“Oh wow really? I thought they were holding you up at the shop.” Hearing the surprise in Matt’s voice stung a little. He didn’t tell his friends about his job predicament, he would rather tell them he quit than being slowly laid off. 

“Yeah the shop is cutting back hours and I am getting the short end of the stick. So I will be hanging out at home a lot more now, not that I mind. Besides, I have no vehicles I can really afford to fix up at the moment.” Adam explained, swirling the remaining coffee in his cup around. He really did mind that he was getting the short end, it pissed him off more than anything. ‘No point crying over spilled milk.’ he reminded himself, closing his eyes for a bit before opening them again.

“Damn, they really like to screw you over there. It's like that sometimes.” Matt before going quiet for a bit. Neither party talked for a bit, Adam looked over at his book, secretly wishing he could be reading that instead of this painfully awkward conversation. “I have a way for you to make some side money if you want.” Matt said, his voice hesitant as it broke the silence between them.

“Depends, what’s the job?” Adam set down his coffee cup, becoming more interested in the conversation.

“Well you know how I usually watch Keith for Shiro for a few hours in the afternoon?”

“I’m aware.” Matt would often talk about Keith with Adam when they were hanging out. 

“Well,” Matt continued. “Something came up at work, and it's not something I can tear myself from. So I have to stay later. Do you mind babysitting him for me? The McClain’s can take home Keith, so you don’t have to pick him up. You would just chill with him and make sure he does his homework until Shiro comes home from work. Shiro is willing to pay you as well.” 

“He’s okay with me watching his kid?” Adam questioned, cocking his head to the side with confusion written over his face. He knew Shiro but not that well. He wasn’t sure how Shiro would exactly feel for a man he didn’t really know watching his kid. Adam, though, didn't mind watching Keith, when he was younger he watched his siblings whilst his parents went out. In college he would also nanny on the side to help with rent. So he wasn’t concerned at all about dealing with the kid.

“Yeah, I already got the pass from him that you are an okay alternate if I can't watch him. Also, I may or may not have mentioned to him how good you are with kids.” Matt confessed quickly at the end. Adam rolled his eyes and shook his head. ‘Of course Matt would mention that.’ 

“Well let me see.” He said as if he was checking his schedule. He was silent as he pretended to check his calendar. Matt scoffed before laughing at him through the phone. 

“You’re a dick.” Matt spoke, causing Adam to burst into laughter. Adam enjoyed harassing him, it made life for him more fun.

“Yeah I can totally do that for you.” He said, his voice dripping with sincerity, he wasn’t there with Matt but he could feel him roll his eyes. 

Matt laughed, the latter part of his response full of sarcasm. “You are a lifesaver as well as a comedian. Do you ever think about quitting your job and doing comedy full time?” 

“Constantly, I dream of leaving this all behind so I can write and spew jokes to strangers for their enjoyment.” His response was equally as sarcastic. “It’s really no problem though, but next time we go out for drinks, you’re the one who is buying.”

“You know what? That's valid, bet!” Matt mused before giving Adam the lowdown, “So Keith will be dropped off at his house around two. I will text you the code to their garage so you can get there before he’s dropped off. Shiro doesn’t feel comfortable yet leaving him home alone. If you need any help with Keith please don’t hesitate to text me.” 

Adam nodded as he took in all the information. “Got it. I think I should be okay Matt. I have had to watch children before. Besides, you're beginning to sound like a distraught mother. Are you sure you aren’t actually his mother?” Adam teased, the corners of his lips curling up into a smile. 

“Sometimes it really does feel like I am his mom.” Matt let out a long sigh. 

“And I know I know, I was just letting you know. Also beware, Keith can sometimes be difficult. Just don’t let it bother you, he’s really a good kid, I promise.” He added.

“I trust you fully, but I would get back to work before Axca notices and tears you a new one.”

“She loves me too much to do that. But I will text you the code, thank you again Adam. I gotta let you go and get back to work.” Matt’s voice was confident yet still wavered when talking about his supervisor. Adam said goodbye and hung up. 

He placed the phone down beside him on the counter, he picked up his coffee again. Thoughts about returning to his novel had dissipated. Instead he was mulling over what the day was going to be like for him. He also hadn’t seen Shiro in a while, he remembered briefly seeing him at Matt’s birthday party. The last he heard he heard about Shiro was that he was engaged to a girl he met through the university and once she graduated they were going to get married. He wondered if she was still in the picture, from the words Matt had used over the phone Adam guessed that they most likely had split up and were not together anymore. He was more happy that he was able to earn some extra money. The shop paid him nicely, but Iverson cutting his hours was hurting his bank account. If he had the ability to earn extra money, he was going to take it. He took another sip of his now cold coffee, thinking away the morning.

\--

Adam got to Shiro’s townhouse fifteen minutes before 2 pm. Walking through the garage door and into the kitchen, he was welcomed into a house that was evidently a family living there. Toys were scattered along the couches in the living room and the floor. Pictures of 

Keith and Shiro, surprisingly a lot with Matt as well, smiling in various times and places are hung up on the wall. Drawings done by a child along with miscellaneous magnets were on the fridge. Adam smiled softly as he looked at all the pictures, he thought about having a family and how it would be nice to come home to one. ‘One day.’ He thought to himself as he made his way over to the couches in the living room and sat down on one. Keith was due to come home soon and to pass the time he pulled out his book and began to read. 

He was invested into his book when he heard the rumbling of the garage door, he didn’t look up until he heard the door leading into the kitchen open. He watched as a small boy with a black mullet wearing a red jacket, turned from the kitchen into the dining room. The boy stopped when he saw Adam, his eyes narrowing as he looked at him. ‘This must be Keith’ Adam thought as he looked back at Keith.

“You’re not uncle matt” Keith said warily, his eyes still staring deeply into Adam’s soul. 

  
“No I am not, I'm Adam.” Adam retorted, keeping his voice calm. The last thing he needed was Keith to have a freak out on him. He would rather not be thought of badly by Shiro.

“Where is he?” 

“Work”

“Why?”

“He’s doing a project.”

“What's the project about?”

“Are you going to keep asking me questions?” Adam answered, ignoring Keith’s original comment. Yes kids were curious, but Keith was more or less drilling him than being curious. 

“Yes, what’s the project about?” Keith repeated his question.

Adam groaned, despite the cuteness that Keith possessed, it did not stop Adam from getting annoyed by the boy. The rest of the afternoon will be interesting. 

“I'm not sure, next time you see him you should ask him.”

This time it was Keith who groaned, rolling his eyes as he placed his backpack onto the dinner table. He walked into the living room, passed Adam and onto the couch adjacent to him. He watched in disbelief as Keith grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. He pursed his lips and it was now his turn to look at the boy suspiciously.

“So no homework?” He asked, he already knew that Keith had homework. But he was not going to outright tell the kid to bug off and do his work, that would just blow up in his face. Instead he had to be sneaky, play Keith’s game whilst also making his own rules.

“Yup, I finished it already,” Keith grumbled as he continued to watch his show.

“When did you do it?”

“On the way home.”

“Lemme see.”

“Why?” Keith turned to look at him, the annoyance his voice was increasing. Adam knew he was becoming frustrated.

“Because I don’t trust you, that’s why.”

“UGGGHHHH, you’re ruining my life.” Keith exasperated, flopping onto the couch in defeat.

“You can watch it when you’re finished.” Adam stated, watching Keith’s mini melt down. 

“Fine.” was the only word Adam could make out of Keith’s angry grumbling as he turned off the TV, and made his way to the dining room table. He shot Adam an angry glare as he walked by. Matt’s early comment about Keith being difficult swirled in his head, he felt a little bad for the kid. 

“Would you feel better if I made you a snack?” Adam suggested, hoping that would at least make Keith feel a little less bratty. Keith was silent as he continued to do his homework, contemplating on whether or not to take Adam up on it.

“Yes,” Keith nodded, still annoyed but a little less than before. He nodded and got up from his spot on the couch and into the kitchen. He made a mental note that food bartering worked well on Keith. Silence overlapped the pair again as Keith focused on his homework and Adam made his snack. ‘This is nice’ He mused as he prepared the snack. He set it on the table. Keith grumbled out a thank you, which made Adam smile softly, “you are very welcome.”

He continued passing the table and back to the couch, and picked up his book, allowing himself to get absorbed into the world.

“How do you know my dad?” Keith asked, breaking the long silence between them.

“Through Matt. He and I went to the same university together.” Adam responded, not looking up from his book. 

Keith was silent again for a bit before asking, “What do you do?”

“At the moment I am a mechanic. But I’m planning on going back to college to get my PHD”

“Ooooo my dad has one of those!” Keith excitement rang through his voice, sitting up straighter at the table. Adam looked up from his book, it seemed that he finally peaked Keith’s interest. He smiled and turned his body more to face the boy and placed down his book.

“Oh really? Do you know what it is?”

Keith nodded excitedly, “He’s an astronomer! He gets to look at the stars and sometimes astronauts ask him to help them with his space travel.”

“That’s so cool!” Adam couldn’t help but smile. Keith’s face the entire time was in a scowl, so seeing his eyes full of wonder and talking with the biggest smile on his face was really adorable. Anyone could see that Keith loved his dad fiercely, holding him on a high pedestal.

“Yeah! I wanna be like him someday.” Keith sighed dreamily, before returning back to his homework.

‘He's not that bad as I thought,’ Adam thought silently to himself, looking back down at his book. The silence from before continued. 

“I'm all done with my homework. Now can I watch tv?”

“Hmmm I don't know,” Adam hummed, pretending to think. 

Keith huffed, becoming frustrated, “You said after my homework that I could watch TV!”

“Yes but you did lie to me and throw a temper tantrum.”

“Ugh I hate you!”

  
“Oh get over yourself I'm just teasing you.” Adam exasperated, he was only trying to tease the kid. Though it backfired on him more than he thought. “Yes, you can watch tv now. No need to get all huffy.”

“You could have just said that instead of being mean.” He responded, anger covering the hurt in his voice. He turned his face away from Adam.

“I'm sorry I hurt your feelings,” Adam apologized looking at the boy still, “It was not my intention to be mean, you I was teasing you and I see that I took it too far.” 

“Thank you.” He said quietly, still not meeting Adam’s gaze.

Keith came over to the couch he was on earlier and turned the television back on. Adam closed his book and watched the show with the boy.

\-- 

Adam and Keith were still watching television when they heard the front door locks clicking. 

“I’m Home!” a voice calls out, as the door opens.

“Dad!” Keith yells, jumping off of the couch and running over to the front door and straight into the man walking in.

“Hey superstar! How was your day?” Shiro said, picking up Keith into his arms giving him a hug as he closed the door behind him.

“It was good! Lance, Hunk, Pidge, and I played tag. But they couldn't tag me at all.” Keith beamed proudly, looking at his dad with a big grin still plastered on his face.

“Well aren’t you just a little speeder.” Shiro gleamed, ruffling Keith's hair. Which caused the boy to frown and smacked the mans hand.

“Hey, let's use our words and not hit.” Shiro reprimanded before dropping the boy who decided to take off upstairs.

He looked over at Adam, who was watching the whole ordeal and smiled. Adam felt his heart skip a beat, had Shiro always looked this good? 

“Thank you for watching him on such short notice.” Shiro expressed, turning off the TV that was left on and putting his book bag on the coffee table. 

“It’s no trouble at all! It gave me something to do.” Adam said, hoping he didn’t come off as too eager. 

His comment caused Shiro to laugh, and he pushed back the smile that wanted to form. He loved how Shiro laughed, he wanted to hear it again. 

“So, how was he?” Shiro asked as he sat down next to Adam, looking at him. 

“He was a little difficult at first, but we were able to work something out.”   
  


“Sounds like him, he's a sweet kid but sometimes he can be frustrating.”

“Yeah but it was nothing I couldn't handle before.”

“How much do you charge?” Shiro asked.

‘A flash of your smile’ He thought, before speaking, “12$ a hour and before you ask yes I do take Venmo”

Shiro pulled out his phone, unlocking it and pulling up the payment app before reaching over and giving Adam his phone. 

“Takashi?” Adam asked quizzically, looking up from the phone and at Shiro.

“Yeah, it's my first name. Usually people just call me Shiro though because it's easier I guess.” He explains with a shrug. It was obvious that he didn’t care. 

“I like it, Takashi is a nice name.” Adam replied, not actually meaning to. He mentally cursed himself for letting his thoughts slip like that.

Shiro blushed softly, a warm smile lighting up his face, “Thank you, you can call me Takashi if you want.”

  
“Willdo Takashi.” Adam flirted with a small smirk, causing Shiro to look away biting his lip. He was happy to see Shiro get so flustered easily. It was cute to him somehow, though he did not have the right words to explain that reasoning. He entered in his Venmo information before handing the phone back. The two of them stood up, Adam reached down and grabbed his book as they walked to the front door together.

“If you ever need someone to watch over Keith, you can always hit me up.” Adam added as they stood in front of the door.

  
“Really?” Shiro excitement was both in his voice and on his face. 

Adam nodded, “Yeah, he's difficult at times but also fun to hang out with.”

Shiro laughed again, still smiling, “That’s perfect, I will definitely be taking you up on that offer then.”

‘Please do’ He reflected, opening up the door and walking out onto the front porch.

“Drive safely home Adam, have a wonderful night.” Shiro said, leaning against the door frame. Adam turned to see a soft smile on Shiro’s face, his heart melted instantly. 

“I will. Good night Takashi.” He mused, smiling and waving at him. 

“Good night Adam.” Shiro said softly before shutting the front door. 

Adam walked back to his car, his heart beating a fast pace. He didn’t expect for his day to go like this, but he was thankful that it did. He hoped that Shiro would text him soon, so that he could see him again. 


	2. Chapter 2

Shiro stayed true to his word, swiping Adam’s number from Matt and Adam soon found himself watching Keith more often than not. Keith could be difficult though but Adam really couldn't help but secretly love the kid. Despite how stubborn and hard headed the kid was, he had his moments of sweetness and Adam liked him for those moments. Adam also found himself looking forward to seeing Shiro when he came home. He enjoyed their brief yet pleasant conversations, he could talk to him for hours if he could. 

Keith and Adam were in a fairly heated argument when they both had heard the door open. Adam had started making it a point to bring some of his favorite movies and tv shows to watch with Keith, as it was something they both loved to do. Oftentimes when Shiro would come home, he would find Keith and Adam on the couches watching something on the TV. More often than not Adam was explaining something about the show or movie, most likely answering a question from Keith. 

Today Adam chose to bring over his Star Wars box set as it was one of his most favorite movie franchises and he also had a small inkling that Keith would love it. He was correct in the fact that Keith did like it, but he did not take into account how many questions Keith was going to ask. There had yet to be a moment of silence from the kid, who was exclusively asking questions that were going to be answered in the upcoming scenes. At first he did play along, answering his questions but soon he started getting annoyed.

Finally becoming fed up and telling Keith, “Listen, if you watch the movie, all of your questions will be answered. But if you keep on asking me about the movie, you are just gonna ruin it for yourself and you will miss all the epic parts.”

This was something that did not sit well with Keith, who grumbled back, “Yeah well, maybe they should explain it better.”

“They do explain it Keith, you just miss it because you keep talking.”

“Cause I'm confused.”

“Yes, I understand, but you gotta just watch the movie.”

“UGGGHHHH!!” Keith groaned, and Adam had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. 

Adam thanked the gods when he heard the door open and Shiro’s “Hello!”, as Keith’s mood immediately changed into something more pleasent.

“Hi Daddy!” Keith said with a sweet smile on his face as if he didn’t throw a hissy fit just moments before.

“Hey bud! Hey Adam.” Shiro greeted them both with a sweet smile as he sat down next to Keith, pulling him into a small hug. Keith giggled as he wrapped his arms around Shiro hugging him back tightly. Adam could feel his lips curling into a smile, it was heartwarming to see how much Keith and Shiro cared for each other. It was something that he hoped to have someday in the future with someone. 

“How was he?”

“He was good, though he and I did get into a small argument.”

“Oh?” Shiro looked at Adam curiously then turning to look down at Keith, who still had his arms wrapped around Shiro. Though he was more engrossed in the movie than their conversation. “Is that true?”

“Yeah ,Adam sucks at watching movies.” Keith responded, his eyes still glued on the TV.

This time Adam didn’t hold back and rolled his eyes, shaking his head after. “He forgot to add in the part where he kept asking questions the entire time.”

“Ahhh, he does that sometimes.” Shiro nodded giving Adam a sympathetic smile, secretly apologizing for Keith’s behavior.

Adam shrugged, “It doesn’t really bother me.” Which was true, Adam didn’t mind answering Keith’s questions at all. There were times where they had some fun conversations because of Keith’s frequent asking of questions during movies. 

“Why don’t you get ready for tonight.” Shiro whispered to Keith squeezing him softly.

The little boy nodded, unwrapping his arms from his father and disappearing to his room.

“So what are you up to right now?” Shiro asked, turning to Adam.

Adam bit his lip, trying to keep calm but the question made his heart race. Normally he would just collect his stuff and then say goodnight, but what was it that Shiro wanted to do? He had to keep himself from blushing too, he didn’t know how Shiro would feel about that.

“Oh I don’t know, probably gonna go home watch some reruns, I have some mean leftovers calling my name too. Why?” He replied back, his voice calm and collected. He was thankful he was able to keep a clear and calm voice or Shiro would totally pick up on it.

Blush began to creep up on Shiro’s cheeks, causing Adam’s heart to race even faster, “Well Keith is having a sleepover at his friend Hunk’s house tonight and I was wondering if you wanted to grab drinks. There’s this really good ramen shop that i was thinking we could go to. I already asked Matt and he said yes.” Shiro's eyes sparkled as he talked, Adam wanted to watch them for hours.

“Sure!” He replied back, grinning feverishly. 

“Really?” Shiro said, the excitement strong in his voice, Adam laughed. “What about your night of reruns and leftovers?” 

“Well the beautiful thing about reruns is that they will always be on. Plus my leftovers can just turn into tomorrow’s lunch. Anyways Matt owes me a drink and I feel like cashing in my IOU.”

“He owes you a drink?” Shiro tilted his head to the side, raising up his right eyebrow.

“Oh yeah, he promised to take me out for drinks since I watched Keith for him that one time “ Though that one time has turned into most of the time. How the hell did Matt rope Adam into doing his motherly duties? ‘Tease Matt about it later’ Adam mentally noted to himself, it was only fair.

“Hmmmm, maybe you should have him buy us all dinner. I don’t think a drink is gonna cover all the other times you’ve watched Keith instead of him.” Shiro teased laughing.

“Hey hey, this is my favor now. You can’t be freeloading on it. Besides if anyone should be paying as well, it should be you.” Adam scoffed, shaking his head and pretending to be offended. But the smile still on his face let both of them know he was totally lying. 

Shiro kept laughing and held up his hands, “Now, now we don’t have to be like that. I am perfectly okay with paying for myself.”

“Listen, I only asked for you to watch Keith. There was no cocereon there. Plus I pay you handsomely enough, don’t I?” Shiro added, a playful smirk on his lips.

‘Is this man trying to kill me?’ Adam thought, his heart feeling as it was going to burst through his chest. Shiro didn’t give him a chance to say something back, though he wouldn’t know what to say.

His hands still up in the air, shaking softly of laughter at Adam, “I’m only teasing you, I am capable of paying for my own meal. I will send you a text with the address in like an hour or so. I need to get the little rascal ready for his sleepover and drop him off before the adults can have fun. We can meet outside the Ramen bar at 7:30 then?”

“Yeah that works for me,” Adam stopped the movie, getting up from the couch and grabbing the DVD from the DVD player and putting it into the case. “I will see you later tonight then, you can just venmo me whenever.” He moved to the door, turning to give Shiro a goodbye smile.

“Got it, see you later tonight.”

\--

Adam would never fully admit it outright to anyone but he was a bit nervous about getting ramen tonight. It wasn’t a date or anything, in fact Matt would also be there, but it still made Adam lowkey panic about it. Besides from their short conversations over text and when Shiro gets home, they haven’t really hung out or talked together. Adam wanted it to go right, truthfully he was rooting for it to go well so he would have the chance to hang out with Shiro again. Adam didn’t change out of the clothes he was already wearing for the day, instead he threw on a green army jacket on top then headed out the door. 

When he arrived at the ramen bar, both Shiro and Matt were already standing outside the restaurant talking to one another. Matt smiled instantly when he saw him walking up towards them, he waved. Adam shook his head and smiled and waved back at Matt, he saw Shiro looking over his shoulder at Adam with a small friendly smile on his face. Which made his heart beat a little bit faster. ‘Listen, we are just gonna get ramen and that’s it. Get it together.’ He reminded himself as he walked up to them.

“You finally made it, I was getting a little worried that you were lost” Matt snickered, poking his shoulder.

“How would I get lost? I live not even like 10 miles from here.” Adam turned to give Matt a look that was a mixture of confusion and a bit of annoyance. “Anyways, I got here on time. The two of you just got here earlier than me.”

“Yes well, remember being early is on time, being on time is late, and being late is inexcusable.” Matt taunted. 

Shiro laughed and Adam opened his mouth again, to reply back with a snide comment but Shiro was quick to shoot down the conversation before Adam could get a word in.

“Okay, we get it Matt. You are very special because you got here on time. Now let's go inside and get some food before we just spend all night arguing over something so trivial. Besides,” He said, his smile still friendly as his one before though this time there was something more sinister behind it as he gave Matt a hard patt (causing Matt to grunt a bit), “You’re the one who is so nice enough to provide a meal to all of us. I wanna get to enjoy it right away, there is a delicious seafood ramen that I have been dying to taste.” 

Matt opened his mouth in shock, before shutting it again and sighing in total defeat. “I only promised to buy Adam a meal because he covered for me.”

“Yeah well, you owe me a meal cause I put up with you.”

Matt didn’t say anything, just nodded in agreement with Shiro. It was refreshing to Adam to see another person put Matt in his place. 

The three of them go into the cute little ramen restaurant. It’s not that big on the inside, there’s a long bar for people to sit at and some booths opposite of the bar, some of them filled with happy families enjoying their meals. They walked over and sat down at the bar, Matt on the left, Adam in the middle, and Shiro on the right. The bartender came over to where they were seated, taking their orders for drinks.

“So what do you recommend getting Takashi?” Adam asked, looking from the menu over to Shiro.

“Usually I like to get the short pork rib ramen,” Shiro started to explain, going down the menu, telling Adam his opinion on what he likes. Adam smiled, nodding softly as he listened to Shiro’s recommendations and why he may like them.

‘Takashi?’ Matt thought, quizzically looking at Adam. Matt was surprised to hear someone call Shiro by his first name, usually people called him Shiro. He wanted to question but instead he kept quiet, noticing the bartender coming over with their beers. ‘Later I shall interrogate Adam.’ He noted to himself, turning to smile at the bartender.

“Are you gentlemen ready to order” The bartender asked, bringing over their cups of beer.  
They each order their food and begin to talk about trivial things amongst one another, Drinking their beers as they wait for their food to arrive.

“So what’s your opinion on Keith?” Shiro questioned, looking at Adam.

Adam took a sip of his bear, he was surprised that Shiro was asking him this question. Was it not obvious that he liked Keith? He did like him, even if Keith would constantly ask questions during movies or shows. 

“He’s a good kid,” Adam assured Shiro, “Though there are times where he does get on my nerves or I say something he hates or doesn’t agree with and we are back to I am terrible.” He confessed, he was a bit upset about it. It did actually bother him a bit that he didn’t always get along with Keith, he liked the boy and all his crazy antics.

“He’ll grow on you.” Shiro promised, resting his hand on his shoulder and giving him a sweet yet promising smile. “He can be hard sometimes, but he will come around.” The touch made Adam’s heart race, ‘God I hope he can’t tell.’ He prayed silently.

“Yeah like a rash.” Matt snorted from behind him, Shiro’s smile faded into an annoyed look. He dropped his hand and leaned back on the stool to glare at Matt. Matt snickered, taking another sip out of his glass. 

“I’m just saying.” Matt reasoned, giving Shiro a knowing look.

“And I’m just saying that you keep talking about my kid like that, I’m gonna hit you” Shiro snapped back. 

“You would never hit me, I am too valuable to you.” 

“Hmm I don’t know, Adam is watching Keith more than you, so I think you are on the up and out.”

Adam laughed, Matt scoffed putting his hand on his chest acting offended. 

“You’re so cruel Shiro.” He said dramatically turning away his face, making Adam laugh even harder. His laughter was contagious, both Matt and Shiro bursting into laughter as well. 

Their laughter subsided once their bowls of ramen arrived and the three men fell into silence as they began to indulge in their dinners. The conversations were sparse and in between as they ate. 

“So, I’m curious. You don’t have to answer obviously if you don’t want to, but what happened to Keith’s mom?” Adam asked, breaking the silence, nervous about even asking. He was genuinely curious and he figured she was out of the picture.

Shiro tensed for a split second before relaxing again, which made Adam even more nervous. ‘Shit, did I mess up by asking? I should just say nevermind.’ Adam opened his mouth again, to tell Shiro that he didn’t need to answer, but Shiro was already speaking.

“No, it’s totally fine. I kinda figured that you would ask.” Shiro chuckled softly, masking whatever emotion he was really feeling with reassurance and comfort.

“Keith’s mom and I were dating for a while and we intended to get married before we had any kids. We ended up having Keith sooner than we expected. We thought we were ready, but that wasn’t exactly the case. We split up and I got custody of Keith.”

Adam nodded as he listened. 

“And no, I don’t regret having Keith. He’s my everything, I don’t think I would be the person I am today if I didn’t have him as a son.” Shiro added to his comment, not even giving Adam a chance to reply.

“I wasn’t going to ask, I can tell that you really love him. But thank you for telling me.” He said softly, he was happy that Shiro felt comfortable telling him. 

“Of course, it’s been almost six years now so I really don’t mind talking about it.”

Adam knew he was lying about that, he saw how Shiro tensed when he asked, even if it was just for a split second he saw it. It wasn’t his place to say anything, so he continued to eat his ramen. Besides he already had a bit of regret for even bringing it up.

“This is really good.” Matt said, immediately changing the subject to something more lighter. Adam silently thanked him, happy to get off of such a heavy topic.

Adam nodded in agreement. “He’s right, especially this short rib ramen. Takashi, you have given me a new favorite dish.”

Shiro snickered, as he sipped his beer. 

“What’s so funny?” Adam asked, laughing a bit though he was more confused to why his comment would make him laugh.

“Oh nothing, it’s just that it’s also Keith’s favorite dish. I guess you two have something in common after all.” 

Adam gave him a look that said, ‘Really Takashi?’, before shrugging and taking another bite of his ramen.

“Bet that makes you happy.” He teased, not really meaning anything by it. 

“It does.” Shiro confessed quietly, causing pink to bloom across Adam’s cheeks. He was slightly taken aback, but it made him happy on the inside as a smile grew on his face. Sober him would have tried anything to keep it from coming out, but slightly drunk Adam didn’t care.

“Good.” He whispered back, not really caring if Shiro heard him. Adam hoped that Shiro did hear his comment and that it made his heart race too.

Matt stayed silent, eating his ramen as the two men conversed. Despite going with them, it felt like Adam and Shiro were there together and not with him. It did bother him a little, though watching his two friends bond made him happy. Besides, the more he kept his mouth shut, more would be revealed on why Adam calls Shiro Takashi and not Shiro. Matt and Adam had been friends for years and even though Adam had kept his feelings hidden for the most part, he could tell that Adam had a soft spot for Shiro. It seemed like Shiro had one from him too. The thought made him smile, and he continued to munch on his ramen.

The bowls once filled with delicious ramen were now empty, each one of them extremely satisfied and full by their meal. Matt placed down some money on the bar before they thanked the bartender and left. It was late but the city was still alive and active. 

“Well, I’mma head on out. I have to prepare for my lectures tomorrow.” Shiro turned around to face Adam and Matt.

“Thank you for the food, you didn’t have to pay. I was totally fine with paying for myself.” He said to Matt.

“Oh well now you say something. But it was good seeing you buddy.” Matt sarcastically replied, before giving Shiro a hug. Shiro hugged back before pulling away and turning towards Adam.

“It was wonderful hanging out with you. I would love to do it again. You still good for watching Keith tomorrow?” He asked with a small hopeful smile.

“Yeah, of course. I hope we can do it again soon.” He gleaned back. 

Shiro’s smile grew and he nodded at Adam, “Alright see you two!” He said before walking and disappearing into the crowd of people on the street.

Once Shiro had left, Matt immediately swiveled to face Adam. “So you call Shiro Takashi?” He stated, his tone a mixture of teasing and curiosity.

“Yeah, that’s his name.” Adam replied dryly, he knew what Matt was doing and he was grateful that he at least waited to start the integration until they were alone. 

“When were you going to mention that you call him that?”

“I don’t see why it’s a big deal. You’re not my mom Matt.” 

“Haha you’re hilarious.” Matt said, mocking Adam’s sarcastic and annoyed tone. “I’m serious, when were you gonna say that you like him?”

“Frankly never because it’s not something that is on my mind a lot.” He shrugged, he was reminded of it though every time he saw Shiro and he smiled. 

Matt shook his head, “You’re ridiculous, you know that.”

“Yes, but that’s why you’re my friend.” Adam smiled, giving Matt a side hug.

“Drive home safe bud.” Matt said, pulling him into an actual hug.

“You too, I still need you around just in case I want yummy food.” Adam chuckled softly, hugging back his friend.

They pulled away from the hug and walked their separate ways into the crowds. Adam felt giddy, he didn’t expect his night to go like this but he was happy that it did. He hoped for more nights like this would come soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I am so so sorry that y'all had to wait so long. But I hope the long length makes up for the waiting. I appreciate you guys for reading it. I am going on break soon, so hopefully there will be another chapter up. Please comment and give a kudos if you enjoyed !
> 
> Next Time: 
> 
> "Did you know that Hippos can't swim?"
> 
> \- Beach Episode :) 
> 
> Find me on twitter, @ettuleo i post a lot about adashi :)


	3. Chapter 3

Summer crept up on the world quietly, the warmth of the sun becoming more present with longer days. The need for Adam to watch Keith became less, Shiro was now home most of the days, the college semester had ended and he elected not to teach any courses over the summer. Despite not watching Keith often, the two of them still talked, mostly over text and on rare occasions over the phone.

Adam was curled up on the couch, scrolling through the web on his laptop when he heard his phone buzzing. His eyes flickered from the laptop screen down to side, where his phone was buzzing alongside him, the name of the caller written across the screen, it was Shiro. Adam was surprised to see Shiro’s name on his phone this late. While they did enjoy their occasional long phone calls, they never were in the evening. His mind wandered through the different possibilities onto why Shiro would be calling him at the moment as he lifted up the phone, answering it, and putting it to his ear.

“Hey Takashi.” Adam greeted softly.

“Hey Adam! How are ya?” Shiro's enthusiastic voice questioned through the phone, Adam could hear in the background the faint screaming of children. 

“I’m doing well. Just enjoying a nice chill evening alone.” Adam chuckled, “How about you? I can hear kids in the back, does Keith have friends over?”

“Can you hear them?” Shiro said into the phone before, by Adam’s guess, pulled away from the phone to yell, “Hey! Let’s turn the voice volume down a couple notches! Inside voices please! Sorry about that, but yes, Keith’s friends are here for a sleepover tonight. Which is why I am calling you actually, are you free tomorrow?”

Adam was quiet as he thought about what he had to do tomorrow, which was nothing, “Yeah, I am. Why? What’s up?”

“Well Keith and his friends want to go to the beach tomorrow. Which is no problem but there are five of them and one of me. So I was calling to see if you wanted to come to the beach with us, to level out the battle ground.” Shiro explained. “I’m willing to pay you for it too.” 

“The beach sounds like heaven actually. I wouldn’t mind watching a couple of kids, if that means an afternoon in the sun by the sea.”

“You are grossly underestimating those children, they can be chaotic.” It was as if on cue, Adam heard a faint crash and a distant yell through the phone, Shiro groaned. 

“I’m so sorry Adam. I gotta be right back. Lance, one of Keith’s friends, decided to do parkour off of a couch and I need to make sure he’s okay.”

“It’s no worry. Go help them out, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Thank you “ Shiro thanked him before putting down the phone. 

Adam could hear the faint voices, but paid them no mind. He was thinking about the beach and just relaxing on the warm sand with a good book. It was one of his many versions of paradise on earth. He was also craving a reset, feeling exhausted from the drama of work and the stress of researching for universities. Iverson was more and more on edge, fights between him and other employees, sometimes with clients, were becoming more frequent and it stressed Adam out. He even fought with his boss at times, though it was becoming more frequent with Iverson’s small fights. He was ready to move on and continue on with his life, though it was painful to think about. The shop and everyone who worked there was like family to him, so he had to accept the goodbye before doing it. Adam chewed on his inner lip, staring down at the laptop screen, the blue screen illuminating an university’s graduate program. 

“I’m back, Lance is fine. When I got over there he more or less was already up again and jumping as if he never fell. That kid is funny, I don’t understand him sometimes but I still appreciate him.” Shiro explained when he got back.

“I'm happy to hear that he is fine and is back up and running. To answer the question you asked me before, yes, I will come with you and the kids to the beach tomorrow. No need to pay me though, I want to go to the beach.”

“Are you sure? I really don’t mind paying you at all Adam, like-”

“Takashi.” Adam cut him off, “As much as I appreciate the offer of money, I don’t want your money. If I want it, I will ask for it.” Shiro laughed, which made Adam smile.

“Besides,” Adam continued, stretching out his free hand to his laptop, closing the glowing screen and thus his worries of his future, “I have been dying for a day at a beach, and I just needed a good excuse to go.”

“Okay, but then I owe you.” Shiro countered, unwilling to admit defeat to Adam.

“No need, I’m doing it as a favor for you. Please don’t worry about it Takashi. What time do you want to be at your house?”

“You can head on over at 11. I just need help with lunch for tomorrow and packing up the car. The kids are self sufficient, but we just gotta make sure that they have everything before we leave. Heaven forbid we forget something.” Shiro responded. 

“Sounds simple enough, I will see you tomorrow morning then.” Adam’s words were slightly filled with excitement. 

“Yes, see you tomorrow.” Shiro replied in agreement, before softly adding, “Goodnight Adam, sweet dreams.”

“Goodnight Takashi.” he breathed out before the dial clicked. He kept the phone raised to his ear for a few moments, his heart was about to burst out of his chest. Shiro’s words sounded sweet like honey and even when they would replay, the sweetness never faded. He sighed, bringing the phone down and staring at it in his lap. He was excited for tomorrow; for the beach and feeling the warmth of the sun on his skin as he recharges, for all the craziness that will most likely happen with all the children, and for hanging out with Shiro. 

\--

Adam knocked on the red door of the Shirogane household, he was ready for the day at the beach, carrying his chair and his beach bag. The door opened and he looked down to see Keith, dressed in his red swim shorts.

“Oh it’s you.” Keith huffed in disappointment as he looked up to meet Adam’s gaze, his small eyes like little daggers.

“Hey Keith,” Adam replied with a smile, ignoring Keith's comment and disappointed gaze. “Are you excited to go to the beach today?”

“Duh.” Keith rolled his eyes, as he left the door open, “Dad’s in the garage.” He added before running off upstairs to join his friends in getting ready. 

Adam entered the house, closing the door, shrugging off Keith and his angsty mood. It didn’t bother him at all, he had become used to it. Sometimes he even found the outbursts to be slightly charming, but that was few and in between. 

“Oh good you're here!” Shiro’s voice beamed from the kitchen, “I have the car almost all packed up, I just need your beach stuff and then we should be able to fit everyone on in and we can be on our way.”

“You just need help with lunch?”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind doing that. I can get the kids into the car as well.”

“Not at all.” Adam smiled at Shiro, slipping his beach bag and chair off of his shoulder and handing it over. 

He turned towards the counter, the supplies needed for making the lunches were sprawled out already, ready to be made into yummy food. Adam grabbed the butterknife and began to make sandwiches for everyone. Getting into the rhythm of making lunch, it reminded him of when he was younger and would help his mother out with lunch. He smiled at the thought, thinking about one day doing something like this for his own family. 

“You are absolutely amazing,” Shiro’s voice surprised Adam, he had become so focused on making lunch, he forgot about the others. He smiled softly, his face becoming warm from the compliment. 

“Thank you, though I just made lunch. Not that hard at all.” Adam replied, waving the jelly covered butterknife 

“True, but I appreciate you doing it.” Shiro countered. “Almost done?”

“Yes, this is the last one.” Adam nodded, spreading the jelly on the bread slice, wiping the excess jelly off on the edge of the bread before smooshing the two slices of bread together, He picked up the butterknife again and cut the sandwich in half then plopping the silverware into the sink. He turned around and saw that Shiro was still standing there, watching him do his task. Adam laughed a little, “I didn’t think that making sandwiches was so captivating.”

“Making sandwiches is boring, but you do it with such ease, it's amazing.” Shiro’s words were breathless, and Adam felt the warmth creep back up on his face. ‘Dammit Takashi, you are making this really hard.’ Adam scolded internally, turning back around so that the small amount of blush wouldn’t be noticed by Shiro. 

“So,” He said, clasping his hands together, “What else would you like me to help with?”

“Nothing, just gotta get everyone and lunch into the car and then we can be off to the beach!”

“Wonderful, I will put the lunch in the car and you can go tell the kids.”

“Deal.” Shiro nodded with a grin in agreement.

The pair split off, Shiro going off upstairs to let the kids know it is time to go while Adam grabbed the sandwiches, the snacks, and drinks, put them into a cooler and then brought the cooler to the car. He placed it at the floor of the passenger side. 

“Beach time! Beach time!” Chanted the children as they swarmed into the garage. They were each dressed in their bathing suits and cover-ups. Lance, Allura, and Pidge dawned sunglasses, despite being inside, whilst Keith had a black bucket cap and Hunk had a hat and sunglasses. They were ready for their fun in the sun. 

Shiro and Adam helped the kids into the car; Allura, Hunk, and Lance sat in the way back and Pidge and Keith sat in the middle rows. 

“Is everyone ready to rumble?” Shiro asked, looking back at all the kids. 

Adam rolled his eyes, scoffing before laughing a bit. The sounds of groaning and the yelling of ‘Yes!’ could be heard from the children. 

“What did my question offend you?” He asked, pulling out of the garage and into the street, smiling to himself.

“No Takashi, you are just cheesy sometimes.”

Shiro's grin grew wider, beaming at Adam’s words. “I take that as a compliment.”

Adam bit the inner side of his lip and shook his head, not saying anything back. The drive to the beach was anything but quiet and peaceful. Pidge and Keith were watching a hippo documentary of some sorts on the screens that were hanging from both Adam and Shiro’s seats. Whilst the rest of the car was subjected to Shiro’s music, which was mostly just early 2000’s pop punk music. 

“So I see you are a big Avril Laverigne fan.” Adam noted, as the third Avril Laverigne song ended, slowing fading into brick by boring brick by paramore. 

Shiro laughed a little and nodded, “Yeah, she’s a talented singer and all. I really like her lyrics and sound.”

“Did you know she was replaced by a clone?” Pidge piped up from the back.

Shiro looked at Pidge through the rearview mirror, a horrified expression on his face, “What?”

Adam looked back at the young girl and shook his head, “She was not replaced by a clone. That’s a lie.”

“Yeah well Matt told me it was true.”

Shiro and Adam sighed at the same time, “Pidge, sometimes your brother doesn’t know what he is talking about,” Adam explained.

“I’m gonna tell him you said that!”

“Good.” Adam responded, looking forward again. 

“Oh my god Adam.” Shiro laughed, shaking his head.

Adam smiled coyly, and shrugged as if he had done nothing wrong and that he wasn’t doing anything. Not once did his mind wander to the shop or anything, instead was enjoying the presence of everyone in the car. Allura, Lance, and Hunk had taken it upon themselves to perform and sing to every song that comes on shuffle that they may know. 

“It’s like our own personal concert.” Shiro leaned over and told Adam in a low voice, making sure that the children wouldn’t be able to hear him. 

Lance’s voice got louder as he started to really scream to the song. Adam looked back at the boy, who was passionately singing, moving his arms and making facial expressions as he sang along. “Lucky us.” Adam replied.

“Did you know that Hippos can't swim?" Keith pipes up, looking over at Pidge.

“How do you know that?” She replied, her tone was of confusion and doubt. 

“If you pay attention to the movie then you would know that” Keith responded in-a-matter-of-fact tone. 

Shiro looked at Adam, “I see you are rubbing off on my kid.” Adam shook his head in response, saying nothing.

“They can swim.” She countered.

“No.” Keith emphasized, frustration growing in his voice “They can’t. They are too big to swim. They can only walk and they also jump to propel themselves. They. Can’t. Swim.”

“Fine.” Pidge sighed in defeat, slumping back into the seat and focusing on the documentary. 

It continued on like that, the chorus of voices from the back seat singing with the interludes of Keith and Pidge discussing facts about Hippos as well as different trivia facts that Pidge was knowledgeable of. Even though there was no moment of silence during the drive, Adam felt at peace with it all and he hoped for more times of this in the future. 

\-- 

The sun was shining bright and they were greeted with it’s warmth when they arrived at the beach. 

“We’re here!” Shiro said, putting the car in park. Everyone in the car cheered, ready to get out of their seats and onto the warm sand and into the cool water. 

They all piled out of the car, Adam and Shiro grabbing the cooler and chairs as the kids helped with the towels and bags. The sand was warm as they trekked their way to the beach, settling down not that far from the shoreline. As soon as they placed down their stuff, the kids immediately began to take off their cover-ups, ready to get into the water.

“Now remember, put on sunscreen before you go into the water. I don’t want to see anyone getting sunburnt.” Shiro reminded everyone, pulling the sunscreen bottles out of a bag and handing one to Keith and the other to Pidge. Shiro and Adam set up the chairs and the bags, before putting on sunscreen on themselves. 

“BEACH TIME!!!” Hunk yelled, after he put on sunscreen and ran down to the water, laughing as he got into the crashing waves. 

“Beach time! AAAAAAAA!!!” Keith screamed out as he followed soon after, slightly tripping on his feet but picking himself up, to the water. 

“Hey! Wait for me!!” Pidge called out, hastily taking off her glasses and thrusting them into Adam’s hand before taking off after Lance and Allura, who decided to run together to the water hand-in-hand screaming. 

Adam placed Pidge’s glasses on top of the cooler before going to sit down in his chair, he was ready to get back into his book and finish it, he was so close to the end of it. 

“Are you gonna come join us in the water?” Shiro asked, tilting his head as he looked down at Adam.

“Potentially.” He shrugged, looking up at Shiro, “I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

“You can’t come to the beach and then not get into the water,” Shiro scoffed and shook his head, taking offense to Adam’s answer. “You have to come in.”

“I will join you guys in the water later. Right now I wanna sit on the beach and enjoy my book and the sun.” Adam answered, digging through his bag to find his book.

“Deal. I will let you read your book for now then. But after you have to come in.”

“I promise I will join you Takashi, now go have fun in the water. I can’t enjoy my book if you keep talking to me.” 

Shiro nodded before turning away and running over to where the children were playing in the waves. Adam smiled softly to himself, as he opened up his book and took out his bookmark. He began to read, though occasionally, he would look up from the text to see what Shiro and the kids were up to in the water. They were all swimming in the ocean together, Shiro occasionally grabbing one of the children in his arms and tossing them into the waves. He watched as he grabbed Allura, who began screaming, as he swung her side-to-side two times before swinging her off into the waves. She raised her hands as she fell into the crashing wave, popping up above water like a small seal after the wave passed by, swimming over to Shiro again and asking for him to do it one more time. 

Pidge, Allura, Lance, Hunk and Keith would come in and out of the water, spending some of their time with Adam on the beach catching their breath, or eating something to replenish their energy before running back in for more fun. Lunch time rolled around and Pidge, Allura, and Keith made their way back onto the beach for food. Shiro, Lance, and Hunk all stayed in the water, having too much fun to even think about eating. Allura and Pidge were sprawled out on their towels, Allura lazily popping grapes into her mouth, nodding as she listened to Pidge talk about facts about the ocean. Remarkably, Keith decided to sit down in the chair next to Adam’s. Wrapped in his purple towel, he silently sipped on his juice box as he stared out at the ocean. 

“Are you having fun Keith?” Adam asked, still reading his book.

“Yeah, I like the beach.”

Adam hummed, “Me too.”

“I don’t like how much Dad likes you though. He talks about you too much. It’s annoying.” Keith grumbled sucking on his straw after angrily. 

Adam froze when he heard those words from Keith. ‘Shiro likes me too?’ He thought to himself, his heart pounding at the thought of it. He was keeping his crush at bay the best he could, but when he registered it, he no longer felt as if he had control over it. He felt like a buggy computer that just froze, ‘Get it together Adam. You gotta stay cool.’ He reminded himself. 

“I’m sorry about that bud.” 

“No you aren’t. You just wanna hurt him too, I don’t trust you.” Keith glared at him.

Adam looked back at the boy in bewilderment, not fully understanding what Keith was talking about. ‘Hurt him again?’ He asked himself, he would never hurt Shiro or Keith. He cared for them too much to do that.

“I don’t know where this is coming from, but I would never hurt your father Keith. I promise you that.” Adam said after some thought. 

Keith’s angry expression softened only a bit, he looked away going back to drinking his juice box. Adam turned back to his book, but even as he read over the lines of text, he wasn’t processing any of the words. His brain was still hung up on what Keith had told him. Shiro liked him back, his crush wasn’t unrequited. But still, he felt more uneasy about it all than anything. What did Keith mean by hurting Shiro again? Was there someone else who had broken his heart? Adam wanted to know, but he couldn’t just ask Shiro outright, that would be extremely rude of him. Instead Adam decided to just keep that knowledge hidden away, alongside his crush for Shiro, until the time was right.

Eventually Shiro, Hunk, and Lance joined the rest of the group on the beach, no longer having any energy to swim in the waves. Keith had joined Pidge and Allura after he and Adam talked, and so Shiro and Adam sat alongside each other as the kids sat in a circle, talking and laughing amongst themselves. Shiro and Adam were talking with each other as Shiro ate his sandwich.

“How long have you been working at the auto shop?” Shiro asked before taking a bite of his sandwich.

Adam sighed, recounting the months since he first started working at the shop. “Gods, it’s been about 3 or 4 years now.” 

“Wow, you must really enjoy it then. Working with all the cars and such?” 

Adam grimaced and gave an uneasy smile. He did enjoy working with the cars and the motorcycles, but he hated the politics and the hierarchy that came with running the shop and the people who worked there. “Working on cars and bikes is really nice, I have always been a lover of vehicles, and when a family friend, Iverson, offered me a job at his shop I took it. I needed the money to pay back my loans for school and I had worked on a car before, so it was the most logical thing for me to do at the time. But...”

“But?” Shiro asked, tilting his head to the side as he looked at Adam curiously.

“But,” Adam continued, “Shop politics are really sticky and can be filled with a lot of drama sometimes it’s exhausting.” He laughed uneasily. “Truthfully, it’s not what I wanna do with the rest of my life and Iverson is just getting on my nerves so much I have been thinking about moving on from the shop. You know, continuing on with my path through life.”

Shiro nodded intently as he listened, “What are you thinking about doing after the shop?”

“I wanna go back to school.” He confessed, looking at Shiro. “I have been thinking about going back and getting my masters in physics for a bit, hopefully I can become a quantum mechanic of some sort.” He explained before shrugging, “I’m not sure yet, but with things at the shop being really slow. It just seems like a good time to switch ships and all.”

“I think that you should do it.” Shiro said, after swallowing a piece of his sandwich. “If it feels right for you and you have been thinking of it for some time, then do it. Nothing is holding you back from it. And if you ever need help with it, let me know. ” 

Adam smiled, his heart warmed by Shiro’s kind words. “Thank you Takashi.”

“Though before you leave the shop, I would love to take Keith there for you to show off what you have been working on. He does think it’s really cool that you are a mechanic, I think you might be growing on him.” Shiro added, smiling brightly at Adam. 

Adam smiled back softly, “I think that would be a great idea. I think he will especially love the motorcycle that I am working on at the moment.”

“Oh he’ll love that!” Excitement rang through Shiro’s voice, and Adam felt his smile grow wider.

Allura walked up to the two men, poking Shiro on the shoulder gracefully to grab his attention. He looked at her with a smile on his face, “What’s up sweetie?” 

“Shiro, can you throw us around in the water again pleaseeeeee?” Allura sweetly asked, even shaking her hands together.

Adam looked beyond her to see that the rest of the children had also gotten up and were making their way down the beach and back into the water, ready to enjoy the ocean again. until it was time to leave. Shiro nodded which caused Allura beam brightly before rushing down to join the other kids. 

Shiro turned back to Adam, “So are you ready to fulfill your promise to me Adam?” Shiro smirks at him, as he asks his question. It gave Adam butterflies. 

Adam bit his lip slightly as he took off his glasses and stood up, “Oh course, I never break a promise Takashi. Now lets go before we get left out of the fun.” He began to walk backwards, throwing Shiro back a devilish smile before turning around and joining the kids in the water. 

He could hear Shiro’s laughter from behind him and he smiled at himself, happy about how the day was turning out. Shiro caught up to him and the pair joined the kids out in the water. Shiro returned to his place as ‘thrower of children’ again, tossing what felt like one kid after another into the waves. Adam laughed as he watched, “Having fun Takashi?”

Shiro gave Adam a look before playfully splashing water on him. Adam looked at Shiro with a glint his eyes, Shiro didn’t realize what he had gotten himself into. Adam soon began a mass splash attack on Shiro, constantly throwing water his way. Shiro laughed and began to splash back. 

“Splash battle!” Lance screamed, joining in on the splashing by sending one Keith’s way. 

Everyone began sending water towards one another. Adam felt the ocean water hit his back and he turned to see Hunk there smiling before he pushed his hands through the water to fling it over on Adam again. Adam reached out for the boy, getting him in his grasp before picking him up and swinging him off into the ocean. The tactic seemed to be successful, Hunk appeared from the waves and turned towards someone else to hit with water. 

\--

The sun began to set, Shiro and Adam corralled the children out of the ocean and back onto the beach to clean up camp and to go home. 

“Make sure you have everything!” Shiro reminded everyone as they picked up their stuff to leave.

Both Shiro and Adam looked at the area they were at, making sure they had picked up all their belongings and trash. They made their way to the car, packed up and drove home. Unlike the car ride there, the car back to Shirogane's house was quiet except for Shiro’s music playing. Everyone was exhausted from the long fun day they just had at the beach. Adam stared mindlessly through the window on the drive home, his mind still processing everything that he had learned. He still didn’t know how to feel about it all, but he knew that he really enjoyed both Shiro’s and Keith’s presence and that was good enough for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First things first,I am so sorry that it took me so long to update. Life me wrapped in some stuff, but I was able to finish it! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and as always please comment and leave a kudos if you enjoyed!
> 
> I have a twt, it's @ettuleo, i post more about adashi there. 
> 
> Next time:  
> “I want to go on a motorcycle ride sometime.”  
> “Well once she’s all finished, I can take you on a ride if you want.”  
> “Promise?”

**Author's Note:**

> hi, hello i hope you enjoyed the chapter. Hehe adam thinks shiro is cute, i wonder if he feels the same.
> 
> Next time:
> 
> "He'll grow on you"
> 
> "Yeah, like an unwanted rash"
> 
> find me on twitter, @ettuleo i post a lot of cute ideas about adashi :)


End file.
